The Shadow Men
by The Magic Pocket Turtle
Summary: In one Timeline, Shadow Link survives the battle with Link. Alone, he attempts to create other Shadow Beings like him. But people have never taken kindly to the Shadow Men. Up for revision
1. Longing

It wasn't until I heard the door clang that I realized I wasn't dead.  
I lay were I was for awhile, flickering in and out of reality, my weakened state threatening to end my life. And at the same time, I wondered why I cared. This was indeed just a half-life. I was only a shadow. A shadow of Link.

Link.

I could hear him. Even though he was no longer there, I heard him. Or at least, I thought I did. I heard him yell, the cries of "Hah! Ya! Kee-yaa!" soon followed by the final scream of his foe seemed to echo through the whole of the water temple. My water temple.  
I tried to stand, reaching for the tree for support.

The tree.

I crashed to the ground, my head still spinning. The tree was gone. So was the mist, and the rest of my reflected world. It had vanished as easily into the air as I had made it. It must have been lost when my concentration was shattered by my counterpart.  
I lay there longer, my ear pressed to the floor, as I listened to Him as he fought his way through, and to his fairy, who was constantly nagging him with vague hints as she urged him to "Look here!" and "Watch out"

It wasn't until I heard the faint sliding of chains that I realised what I wanted to do, or rathor, what I needed to do. I needed to follow Him. I needed to know but what means did he defeat me, by what means could he overcome his mirror image?  
I did not make it to see the battle. I was far to weak to be that fast. But I saw the last blow. In the time that Link paused to let the victory sink in, I re-attached myself to his shadow, and nestled there, waiting.

I could feel the strength flow back as soon as I had rejoined. The feeling was sweet, and I savored it. Soon enough, Link has made his way to a portal that had opened up.

I must say the first feeling that came to me as soon as we entered was nausia. I could see it on His face to, the discomfort that came from this spinning hell. Had I known the many more times I would be doing this I may not have chosen to stay.

It was over soon enough, we found our selves upon a circle, facing a zora maiden. I recognized her as the one who had tresspassed earlier upon my temple. I paid little attention to what she said, for I was to fascinated with the surroundings, however the word 'husband' caught my attention- though a little late. My counterpart was already engaged. Something in me ached at that moment, and it continued for awhile.

I followed Him through the Temples, watching as he spoke with people freely, as the people smiled at him, rewarded him for jobs well done, thanked him for curses lifted. Each time the ache grew, and I feared that it would become unbearable. I thanked the Goddesses each time he turned down a job, then cursed them again as he came back later to fulfill it.

When He faced Ganon, and ran from the crumbling castle, I thought I would die from the ache. Every time Zelda looked at him, everytime she cried when a boulder hit him in the head, the ache pulsed.

It wasn't until he had returned the Ocarina and returned to child hood that I finally detached myself. I could not stand to be around him and the Kokori. Him and Saria.  
However, I stayed awhile in the lost woods. I watched the Skull kids. Once, I felt him leave the world. Leave Hyrule.

All at once the pain exploded. The closest thing to a companion, the closest thing I had was gone. I realised what the pain was. The pain was loneliness.

I didn't want to be alone anymore.

69696969696969696969696969696969

There. Please reveiw, and if you flame me, well I've always like s'mores. This and some other chapters were written at somepoint during midnight, so I'm not entirely sure what I've got here. O.o


	2. The Black Potion

Do to my absolute loathing of the writing I used for chapters 2 and 3, I've re-written them. I'll probably rewrite chapter 4 before I actually finish this story, and as I've been on a roll writing "Playthings", it will probably take even longer to finish this fic.(Oh, I can see the torches and pitchforks now…) Other then that, I'm changing the title. Why? Because I DON'T LIKE IT. I apologize for all the waiting.

* * *

By the time I had gathered the money for the potion, seven years had passed. Seven years of being shunned, of being alone, of stealing and honest work, of wondering how much longer I had to wait before I finally could create my own people. Simply stealing the potion had crossed my mind, but as I lacked the knowledge to identify the potion and the ability to read, the plan had to be ultimately abandoned.

I no longer had to wait. As the dawn rose on Lake Hylia, I prepared myself for the trek across Hyrule field. I took with me nothing more then my sword, the money, and the clothes on my back.

I glanced back over the lake, the only home I had ever known. The zora were all long gone, and I recalled that Link would be there soon to brave the dangers of the water temple. I smiled to myself as I realized that the only difference this time would be that I would no longer be there to battle him.

With that thought in mind I strode out past the gates and into the field.

* * *

It took me about two days to make it to Kakariko Village. It had been years since I had been here last, but I remembered exactly where the store was.

The lady was ancient when I met her last, and she hadn't changed at all. Her failing eyes still squinted, her gnarled hands still stroked her ratty old cat, and her abnormally large nose still sniffed at the thick, scented air.

I sneezed, and she turned her snout towards me. I cleared my throat. "Do you remember who I am?"

"The Shadow Man, I remember you." Her voice creaked. "Looking for the potion that created you, I suppose?"

"Yes."

I hadn't thought it possible, but her eyes squinted at me even more, so that the tiny black dots shrank to an impossibly small size. "I'm not inclined to sell it you know." She said irritably. "Shadow people… they aren't natural. It'll upset the balance of Hyrule."

"You told me you'd sell it if I met your price." I tossed my swollen wallet onto the counter. "Count it if you will. A bargain is a bargain."

The crone pawed through the shining glass currency. She sighed in a mix of disgust and satisfaction. "I have two bottles."

"Give me the largest one."

The crone creaked to her feet and shuffled toward the back of her shop. She returned with a glass bottle shaped like an onion with an elongated tip. The plug was topped with a rubbery bulb.

She pushed the bottle across the counter, the black, sparkling liquid sloshing against the sides. "Take it and go."

I shoved a man out of my way in my hurry to leave. I didn't really notice. I didn't really care.

I made my way to the Kakariko Graveyard, to the Shadow Temple.

* * *

The man hadn't lost his composure by being shoved aside. The old potions lady doubted he would lose composure if his grandmother's throat had been slit in front of him. She knew him well. He was a frequent customer of hers. 

He was large, a behemoth among men. His black-clad form was pure muscle. A red cape added to his formidable apparel. Browned skin, flaming hair and an ostentatious jewel attached to his forehead declared to all from whence this man had come. The Gerudo Desert.

"Welcome, Lord Gannon." The old woman's voiced creaked as it imitated a pleasant tone and greeting.

"Spare me, witch." The Gerudo King replied. "What was that leaving just now?"

"A Shadow-Man, Lord Gannon. Never mind him."

"A Shadow Man…" Gannon mused, glancing out the door. "I don't suppose they're created by a potion, are they?"

The potions lady raised an eyebrow. "Indeed they are, Lord Gannon."

Gannon turned back to the woman. "I want this potion."

"Lord Gannon, if I may give my opinion-"

"If I want your opinion I will give it to you." Gannon snapped. "Do you have this potion?"

"Yes, sir, but-"

"Give it to me."

"Lord Gan-"

The King of the Gerudos drew his sword and swung it with ease so that the point rested at the potions lady's throat. "That wasn't a request." His cold voice froze the air between them.

The potions lady leaned back, away from the sword. "Of course Lord Gannon." She choked.

"I only need enough for one." His eyes glittered in the light.

* * *

I sat precariously on the fence that separated the temple from the final resting place of the dead, scrutinizing the bottle in my hand. The liquid inside was constantly shifting, though I held the bottle perfectly still. Speckles and splatters of dark purple sifted through the otherwise pitch-black contents.

I unscrewed the top, holding the rubbery bulb carefully. It wasn't so much rubber as a peculiar type of plant, probably from the forest across Hyrule Field.

I wondered briefly at how much it would take to create a person. One drop? Two drops? How many possible lives did I hold in my hand? Did it only work on people?

I screwed the cap back on the bottle. I searched my pack for a spare tunic. There was hardly anything there, so I found it easily. Removing it, I wrapped my treasure with it, before placing it back in the pack. I hesitated, then took it into the Shadow Temple and set it carefully against the wall.

I returned to the open air. It should be easy to kidnap a cucco for experimentation.

Oh, I was wrong.


	3. The First to be Born

"CUUU-CUUUU!"

The cucco was screaming bloody murder in my ear. In the dark night over Kakariko Village its shrill cries echoed across the buildings.

"Shut up!" I hissed. "Shut up, you stupid bird!"

"Who's out there?"

I turned as a yellow light threw itself upon me. The silhouette of a young girl stood at the door. Her features were entirely shadowed by the light behind her.

I quickly sifted through my options. I could kill her now, but in order to draw my sword I'd have to drop the bird and thus risk losing it. I could take her with me, though I hadn't the foggiest idea as to how to do that and keep the cucco. I chose the third option; I ran.

Clutching the screeching bird to my chest, I dashed toward the graveyard. The girl followed.

"Stop! Theif! Bring back my cucco!"

I plunged into the graveyard, leaping over tombstones and dashing past bewildered poes. The grave-keeper hadn't yet been replaced, so I hadn't any worries of anyone finding my home.

I paused to catch my breath, then tossed the flailing cucco over the fence that separated the Shadow Temple from the graves. I began to climb up, when I was yanked back down. I landed hard on my back, and looked up into the still shaded face of the girl from the village.

I wondered briefly how she managed to see me in the dark before I regained my senses and leapt up. She stepped back. We stood facing each other for a few moments. Her bravery slipped away, and she turned to flee.

I watched her go. One of the Graveyard poes leapt out, cackaling maniacally and swinging it's lantern. The girl screamed, then fainted.

I snorted. Pathetic. I leapt over to the poe, who hovered confused over it's "defeated" enemy. "Get lost." I growled.

The poe obliged. I lifted the body of the unconscious girl and carried her toward the Shadow Temple. With some difficulty I managed to bring her into it's darkened embrace.

* * *

Two days later a disheveled and forlorne Anju stumbled into Kakariko Village. Her dress was dirty, and her eyes were red from crying.

"Anju!" Marco raced toward her.

Anju looked up at her visiting cousin. He was dressed simply, with brown pants, a white, long-sleeved shirt, a green vest and sandals. He had come in from Hyrule Market when the Re-Deads took over, and had been staying with Anju for some time now. He remembered the lifeless gaze of the zombies as though they had been staring him in the eye just yesterday. He could compare that gaze to his cousin's now.

"By the Goddesses, Anju, what happened?" He grabbed his cousin's arms. "Where have you been?"

Anju sobbed. "He… he…" she dissolved into tears and pressed her face against her cousin's chest.

"Nayru's Love, Anju, what did that bastard do?!"

"I was in the graveyard… and you know the cave? The cave above it? I was in there. And there were torches, scores of torches, and the fire…" she choked down a sob, and Marco patted her head, soothing her. "I don't know what he did, but then my shadow… my shadow, it was alive, and it had red eyes…"

Marco listened patiently, though his mind was raging. Torches? Shadows? _Living_ shadows? He knew Anju to be a sensible woman, but this… this was beyond sensible. This was the thing of nightmares. His insides trembled. Would what happened at Hyrule Market happen here?

He gently guided Anju back to the house. "Shh, shh, it'll be all right. It's okay. Everything will be fine."

* * *

I had released the girl, and now stood alone with her Shadow and her cucco's shadow. Both Shadows were becoming accustomed to life, as the girl's shadow took tentative steps around the temple and the cucco flapped and made quite, self conscious crows to itself.

"Do you have a name?" I broke the silence.

Her head snapped toward me so quickly I thought it would pop off. She stared at me.

I had always known my name. Link. Just as my counterpart had been called. Though in truth, I had always been called Shadow Link, Dark Link, Shadow, it. I wondered whether I had been told my name at first, when she finally spoke.

"Juna."

I continued to watch her. "Juna." I said. She watched me. "Juna." I said again, extending my hand. "Welcome to life."


	4. Goron Mountain

I apologize for not updating sooner. There is no excuse except that I was lazy. Otherwise I thank you for your reveiws and patience, and I promise to attempt to update ASAP.  
It wasn't long before I began capturing other people from the village. With every new person I fashioned from the potion, I felt a great welling of strange emotions, yet I also felt the ice cold sting of the villagers hatred. Apparently the people who returned were never the same afterwards. A conferance was held.  
Besides the chickens and Juna, five others had been created; One was an old man who called himself Famare. Another was the dark twin of the Music man whom Juna and I had ambushed in the windmill. A cow, the man who ran the shooting game and a soldier had been duplicated as well. We all crowded into the cavernous opening of the Shadow Temple, talking loudly as the voices bounced and echoed around the room. I gestured to Anju, who was stroking the Dark Cucco with gloved hands. Nodding, she quickly poked the chicken under it's wing. Releasing a piercing scream of protest, The cucco began to scratch wildly at Juna's gloved arms, all the while flapping it's wings, raising Juna to the tips of her toes before finally settling down.  
During the commotion the small crowd fell quiet, looking up at me as I looked down at them from the raised centerstone. I glanced across the dark faces, across the red tinted eyes and summoned my breath.  
"As you know," I began, "Kakariko has barred it's doors to us." There was a murmer of agreement that was soon silenced by a wave of my hand. "There are few of us here, and should the Hylians of Kakariko decide that we are too dangerous to have round, we wouldn't last long. What we need now is a new plan"  
There was an immediate roar of thoughts and suggestions, that was quieted with another scream of the cucco. I pointed to Garnom, the shadow of the archery game. He was a tall, muscled man, who easily towered over myself even though I stood on higher ground. He looked down as I strained my kneck to look up, and his voice boomed down around my shoulders, "We should knock down the doors of Kakariko and take the city for our own"  
I noticed a few nods of agreement from the Famare and Kimo, the music man. Vicor, the soldier, spoke out.  
"That is not the way. Kakariko has no future for us. It is too close to Hyrule Castle. We must find other means of creating people"  
"And what would you suggest?" Garnom retorted.  
"Goron mountain." after a glance about the room he continued. "There is a cave there, where we could easily ensnare the Gorons, or even a few Dodongos, should we find the need"  
"It sounds lovely." remarked Juna.

Goron mountain was lovely. The few of us who had never ventured beyond the graveyard were ecstatic. The winds blew gently, caressing our faces as we looked in wonder at the world that lay at our feet. "How high does it go?" Juna asked shadeing her eyes as she glanced towards the crest. "I suppose about half a mile higher." I looked as far as I could towards the horizon, attempting to make out the faint glimmer of Hyrule Lake.  
"Could we climb to the top"  
I looked over at Juna, who was hugging the cucco to her chest. "Later." I muttered.  
"Please"  
This tiny plea had me turn full circle. The tiny flock of people reminded me of children, eager and impatient. I sighed. "Oh, very well." and began to lead the way up the mountain. 


	5. The Shadow Mountain

Authors Note: _**STOP AND READ THIS FIRST!!!**_ To whom it may concern, I rewritten all the chapters preceding this one, meaning I've also added a little extra plot to it. You can either go back and read it, or read this little recap. Basically, as they were headed to the top of the mountain, the whole group got caught in the falling rocks. Gornam was seriously injured and so Shadow Link carried him up to the Great Fairy's cave, where he made a shadow of her and healed Gornam.

All right, you can read the story now. Points to anyone who can guess the meaning of the Great Fairy's Name.

* * *

The pitiful group huddled beneath the ledge as the relentless deluge of stone poured from the sky. They had been there for what seemed like hours. The rain of stone had ended awhile ago, and hadn't come again, but still no one ventured out from under the ledge.

So they waited.

And waited.

And the sun sank down and the moon flew high, but no one stirred, no one moved.

They were trapped in the darkness before dawn when they heard the cry.

"Are you still there?"

It was a voice they all knew. The voice of their leader.

"Come up here!"

"Are you insane?" croaked Famare, "We should all die!"

"Dammit, you old fool, get up here!" the voice shouted.

"You heard the man, come on up!" boomed the voice of Gornam, who towered, healed, at the lip of the cliff above them all.

"I want you to see something."

* * *

It did not surprise me that Famare protested the climb so much. In fact, I had expected him to. However, when the others had scaled the cliff, he too, ascended. Even he gawked at Gornam's remarkable recovery. Gornam towered above them all, proud and smiling. He faced the east, and the others flocked around him, questioning, and so he was the first to see.

"Look!" he cried, pointing out over the horizon.

We all turned.

The burning eye that watches all broke past its dark borders and flooded Hyrule with glorious gold. The skies exploded into ethereal color, adorning itself in bronze and magenta in preparation for the coming party of the day. Night, as glamorous as she is, was chased away, her dark and sparkling dress fleeing across the border of the horizon.

But below! Below the divine sky we saw the land. It stretched so far, so wide, and the light in which it was bathed was enough to make the heart wrench and long and yearn for it.

"I want it." Juna said softly, curling her arm around my elbow. "I want it all."

I touched her hand. "So do I." I whispered, amazed at the audacity of breaking this holy silence of coming day. "So do I."

* * *

None of us left that mountain that day. The stones were falling again, and we were by far too enraptured by the land spread beneath us to leave it behind just yet.

I personally sat at the highest point, gazing out to the sapphire streak that was possibly- _possibly_- my beloved Lake Hylia.

Juna sat beside me, still stroking her cucco. "What do we do?" she asked. "How can we live in the graveyard now?"

I was silent. Indeed, how could we? I feared I had done something horrible, something irreversible. But, wasn't this better? Is not knowledge worth the sacrifice?

I sighed. "We can't. We cannot live there any longer, not knowing what we know." I looked up at the clouds. "But we cannot live just anywhere, either!"

"Then… what?"

"I don't know, dammit!" I ground my fist into the dirt. "I don't know. Maybe that old fool was right. I never should have come up here!"

"There are options." A sweet voice whispered. Juna and I turned.

The shadow of the great fairy stood behind us. Her three tails of hair floated against the wind. Upon first glance, she seemed to be completely naked, until you looked closely at the vines encircling her body. Juna sniffed. Upon the fairy's introduction, she had been less than welcoming. While the coming of another female in the group was widely welcomed, she had been the only one annoyed.

The fairy sat next to me, pressing her body next to my arm. Had it been possible, I would have turned a darker black from the contact. Juna looked less than pleased.

"Have you chosen a name yet?" I said.

"No." she replied, and pressed even closer. "Why don't you name me?"

Juna hissed slightly. Cold fire burned in her eyes. "Names are not toys." I stammered. "I couldn't possibly-"

"Ple-ease." She whined.

I thought. "If I were to name you Acantha, would you release my arm?"

The fairy-Acantha- obliged. I breathed a sigh of relief. I ran my fingers through my hair. "You said something about options?"

"Yes." She placed her hands daintily on her knees. "You could wage war with the Hyleans. That's option one. But they do outnumber us, don't they?" She smiled. "We could stay in the graveyard, but no one would be happy. Or," and here her smile took on a malicious tinge. "We could make a place of our own."

"Pardon?" I asked, puzzled.

"Our own place. A Shadow place. We could. If you wanted."

I regarded her closely. She was new. In a sense she was young. In another sense, she was older than any of us could hope to be. I smiled. "I do believe that we could."

* * *

The night had returned.

We had all gathered halfway down the other side of the mountain. I stood away from them, on a cliff that reached out over the base of the mountain. I glanced at the sky- the new moon shed no damning light. I prayed that our plan would work.

Ceremoniously, I held out the bottle. The murky liquid splashed within it's casing. Slowly, I removed the stopper. Palming it's bulbous top, I held out the bottle.

Quickly, I flipped it upside-down and righted it. A healthy glob of the potion fell from the lip and descended into the darkness.

We held our breath. There was an enormous shaking, followed by a tremendous roar. "Get out of the way!" I screamed.

We all turned and ran up Death Mountain, as the great shadowy behemoth behind rose and crackled into the night.


	6. Darunia

Author's Note: This… is getting annoying. It's like this story is taking a life of it's own- I'm already behind on the point where I want to be. Oh well.

Unfortunately, I'm really starting to hate this story. I just want it to be done, but there're so many points yet to be made. **Sigh**. Oh well, I swear I'll finish it. It's not hard to write this, but I'm beginning to loathe my own characters, dammit! But, I'll finish it for those of you who are still reading it. (According to the stats there are about twenty-three of you. That's enough to keep me going on this.)

Interestingly enough, I never planned this chapter. The whole following situation sort of sprouted and grew larger than expected.

* * *

The cucco was screaming from the peak of the mountain. All of Hyrule seemed to rise to it's cries, and when they came blinking and bleary to their windows, it seemed to them that they must still be asleep, that or Death Mountain must have cloned in itself. And indeed, it had.

We had named it "Shadow Mountain". Not a particularly clever or imaginative name, I'll admit, but fitting. And true, one entire point of view was marred by the original mountain itself. But the rest… by the goddesses, it was beautiful! More, more by far, than we had ever expected.

Still, there were things we had expected, such as the uproar caused by the mountain growing overnight. The first to come were the Gorons. Or rather, the two left. Darunia, still powerful and not yet awakened to his future place as Sage of Fire, had come with his son- Link.

I regarded them from a vantage point I had discovered. I could watch the paths leading to my mountain, and had seen them coming long before they had arrived, rolling like possessed boulders down the rocky trails. I had left my place to prepare for them.

Famarre, annoying as he was, was with me when they had made their way to the top, as was Gornam. I stood outside a cave, perhaps one that mirrored the Dodongo Cavern on the original mountain, to wait for them.

Famarre sat on a rock, scowling first at me, then at the empty path. "And you're sure you saw them coming?" he spat.

"Of course." I said.

"This is not some sort of game?"

"I do not play games, Famarre."

"You-"

"Famarre," Gornam interrupted, "enough."

Famarre was silent after that. Gornam had gained even greater respect since scaling the mountain- few disagreed with him, and his loyalty was of greater value to me than the loyalty of a thousand warriors. So long as he supported me, then I was supported by all.

Time passed. Famarre became more and more irritable, although he said nothing. A good hour had come and gone before the rumbling of the Gorons could be heard, and not long after, they both came shooting across the path, stopping and unrolling before the three of us.

Link the Goron stood a small ways behind his father, nervously shifting his weight. Darunia showed no such anxiety, and instead regarded me with cold, black eyes. I returned the gaze, and soon realized that neither of us would be likely to look away, not first. Our entire conversation was held with staring, locked eyes.

"You are the creator of this mountain?" Darunia began.

"I am."

"You seem familiar."

"I am the shadow of the one for whom your son is named."

The goron's forehead furrowed, although his eyes never left mine. "Your are Brother Link's shadow?"

"I am." I smiled. "I am every dark thought, every wrong deed, every hateful thing that ever was part of the 'Hero of Time'."

"The what? Brother Link had no dark thoughts, or wrong deeds, nor any hateful parts about him! You lie, shadow!"

"Hateful?" Gornam said behind me, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I will explain later." Although I had long known the circumstances of my creation, I had not yet inferred this knowledge to the others. I had seen no reason to. Yet.

"And you- you lead these… others?"

"Yes."

The goron was silent for a moment. Finally, he began again. "I do not want a war with you. My people have enough problems as it is."

"I know." I responded.

His eyes became cold. "You know what?"

"I know your people have been captured. I know they will be eaten by Volvagia, if they are not rescued."

"My people have not been captured, shadow."

"Yes, they have." I argued. I knew they had been- The memories I had dug from my counterpart's mind had shown me this, although I had not bore witness to them myself. He had been to the Temple of Fire before meeting me.

Darunia was trembling, but neither of us broke the death-lock our eyes had on one another. "You…" He said, "You work for Him, don't you?"

For the first time I was puzzled. "Who?"

"Ganon! You work for Ganon, damn you!" He shouted in rage.

I nearly took a step back. "I work for no one." I replied.

"Damn you! What have you done to my people?"

"I've done nothing!" I screamed.

It would be impossible to tell who would've taken the first swing. I drew my sword as he raised his fist, both of us blazing in fury.

Things may have become bloody had not Juna stepped from the shadows. She drew a bow and aimed the shaft at the leader of the goron tribe. The bow had been made by Acantha, from what I'm not sure. She had made multiple weapons, all for this single purpose:

To copy Darunia.

I sheathed my sword as the others came from their own hiding places, surrounding the goron chieftain and myself. "I would not move if I were you." I said coldly. There was a squeal behind him. He turned to see what I already saw.

Vicor had snuck in and now held "Link" in a headlock, his spear held by the neck and poised to stab the child.

"You filthy son of a-"

"Son? Son of what?" I laughed. "Son of nothing. Son of no one."

Darunia opened his mouth. I cut him off. "Listen to me. You need only cooperate, and you and your… _son_ may go free."

"Hah!" he spat. "I would never dishonor the Goron tribe by cooperating with Ganon's dog."

I shrugged. "Very well then."

Vicor raised the spear higher, then rapidly brought it down. The dark blade pierced the young one's arm. He screamed and struggled. Vicor was nearly tossed to the side. Gornam, moving quickly for one so large, grabbed the goron brat and restrained him while Vicor hefted the spear again.

Roaring, Darunia took a step toward his son. Juna released the arrow she had been holding. The shaft forced itself into the soft flesh behind the chieftain's knee. Roars of rage sharpened to roars of pain as he dropped to one knee. "I told you not to move." I said coldly. "Try it again."

Darunia kept his position. His back was turned toward me, so I moved to stand by my men. "You needn't do much, Darunia. Just… kneel there."

The proud goron did not move. He met my gaze, then slowly looked away.

I gestured to Acantha, who handed the potion to Etnad, who passed it to Juna. The potion made a slow circle to myself on the other side. I approached the prostrate goron, and smiled. "Don't be so worried. It doesn't hurt at all." I let the potion fall to his shadow.

As soon as the shadow began bubbling up, Famarre gathered it into his arms and carted it into the darkness where it could form without difficulty.

We all stepped to the sides, forming a semicircle around Darunia. Gornam released Link, and as soon as he was gone, Darunia limped to him. The child sniffled, and my stomach turned at the revolting display of weakness. Were all children like that?

"You are free to leave now." I sneered. "That wasn't so hard now."

Darunia glared at me, then bowed his head. "I have shamed my tribe. You will shame many others, it does not take a prophet to see that. But you will not thrive forever. You have made an enemy today, and you will make many more. And you will make them faster than you can kill them."

I shrugged again, and smiled cruelly. "I highly doubt that."

The goron lifted his son. Ridiculous as they looked, what with the son being far too large to be carried as such. They did not roll as most gorons do. He limped away, and the arrow, painful as it probably was and crippling as it should have been, bobbed in time to his step until he stopped, just beyond our view, and pulled it out.


	7. A Plan

Author's Note: I'm Back! –ish. This chapter's rather short, I'm afraid. And I apologize for Darunia's Shadow's horrible name. I was reading a lot of SGT Frog at the time, and their names are all like Keroro, Giroro, Tamama… And by the time I got around to coming up with a more suitable name, the name he now has was deeply printed in my mind. I apologize. I also apologize for lack of updating. Summer makes the updating of stories miserably slow, since I have no ready access to wireless internet, and my computer lacks a plug-in for a phone-cable thingy. Again, I apologize.

* * *

_You have made an enemy today, and you will make many more._

A night's sleep had not yet erased Darunia's warning from my mind. I stood now at the peak of our Shadow Mountain, looking down at the world bathed in light.

_And you will make them faster than you can kill them._

Hyrule was vast. Despite my proud words to Darunia, I could see this. There were so many lands, so many people, so many small, piddling kingdoms within this land all with their own petty squabbles and personal tragedies to contend with. To the east, the Zora, if they haven't frozen yet. To the west, Hyrule Castle Town, what was left of the desolate place, beyond that, the Gerudo Desert, beyond that, Lake Hylia. To the north, Kakariko Village, Hylian Fields, Kokori Woods. Beyond them… Who knew?

At the very least, there were three peoples to deal with, at the very most, uncountable. This was, of course, if I counted in all the monsters of Hylia, the Peahats, the Skullchilds, the Skullkids, the Deku Scrubs… in the forest and fields alone!

…_faster than you can kill them._

Here I knew Darunia was wrong. I would make too many enemies to kill, not make them faster. My tiny clan, against an unknowable number of people…

I looked over at Darunia's shadow, since christened Daruru. He stood silently beside me, watching the sun rise.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"So beautiful. So vast. So full of people. Would you agree that we, too, have a right to this land?"

Daruru looked at me. "Of course."

"And you would agree that we are few in number, yes."

"Sir, what are you getting at?"

I continued to stare out into the horizon. "We are not many. Out of the eleven of us, only two are women, and one," I smiled thinly. "is a damn chicken. So there're ten of us, really. Two women, eight men, of varying ages. That is not a good ratio for survival."

"So we need more women?"

"That, yes. We need more people, period. I was thinking that you, being the shadow of a cheiftain, would have some ways to remedy this."

Daruru seemed to think for a moment. "In my tribe, there are not many women. It is rare for a female to be born. When one is, they are sent to another tribe. The male and female tribes live separately, and come together only to mate."

"I see. And you mate in the usual way?"

"Yes."

I was quiet for a moment. "I don't believe we have time to expand our tribe that way."

"We shadows are made from that potion, yes?"

"Yes."

"Could we not just 'copy' the people out there? As you said, the world is vast."

"I have thought of this. But I worry about the time."

"If you were to split the people, into pairs perhaps, and send them each with a small portion of the potion…"

"That would work." I interrupted, rubbing my chin. I briefly wondered why I hadn't thought of this myself.

I looked out one last time at the sun. It had risen above the mountains and shone solidly on the fields. Yes, Daruru's plan may work after all.


	8. Link

Author's Note: Here you are, a nice, decently long chapter to make up for the pitiful one before. This was going to be strung together with the last one, but I couldn't make the pieces fit. Also, someone very special is finally getting into this story… Link! I've been trying to get him back into here for a while, but I just hadn't found the right moment. Enjoy. And review, please. Just a 'hi, I'm actually reading this.' Would be great.

Also, I'm not proud of the way this chapter is written, but I currently can't think of another way to write it.

* * *

Link had been dreaming again.

Mostly he dreamed of his shadow. Every time he slept in fact, from the moment he closed his eyes to the second they opened again, and he slept a lot. Truth was, he was beginning to regret being so active as the "Hero of Time".

He had come to the realization that even though he technically had already defeated Gannon, when he returned to being a child, it left his deeds as an adult yet to be completed. Not long after his victory, he had been gripped by the sudden need to visit the Temple of Time.

The Master Sword was still there. Impulsively he gripped its hilt.

And he was an Adult again.

He dropped the sword. He had not expected the magic to still work. Shakily he looked around.

Sheik was still there, and had explained everything to him. One of the repercussions of traveling between his adult and childhood body involved needing someone to play the part while the Hero was essentially gone. After all, something had to be done to protect his body in the in-between time. Therefore, his consciousness from before and after his defeat of Gannon needed to change places in Time.

"If it's so important to defend the body while the other me is no longer there," Link had asked, "Why can't my 'consciousness' just return to the same instant it left?"

Sheik had stared at him for a moment. Then with a flabbergasted stammer and a tacked on excuse, he (Or was Link now qualified to call him a 'she'?) vanished.

Link had attempted to shove the sword back into the stone, without any luck. Finally, he settled for waiting alone in the Temple. Time passed, he estimated about two or three days, before the urge to shove the sword back into the pedestal came over him. He succumbed to it willingly, and was once again, a child. An exhausted child- his other consciousness had obviously run him ragged- but a child nonetheless. Deciding against returning to Kokori Forest, he decided to rest inside the temple.

He eventually became used to this "swapping of minds", although he never did quite get used to the constant, horrible fatigue that came with the body. Obviously this was why he never had any need to sleep as the Hero of Time; His future (past?) self always rested for him.

On the rare occasions when Link did not cross over to a completely exhausted body, he chose to wander around in the time period, amusing himself, saying hello to friends. After awhile, the urges to pull out the sword subsided, and for a little less than seven years, they seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Eventually though, he did return to the temple. He had to dodge the re-dead, and was less than thrilled to discover that he was a bit out of shape. Not that he was less powerful, or physically inept. No, he had simply not fought anything in a good while. It was less than intelligent to mess around with history. That, and Sheik had already warned him against doing so.

Either way, he had returned to the exhausting schedule of switching time. Not long after, he began having the dreams. Dreams of Shadow Men, and Shadow Women, although there were few of the latter. He didn't remember having them the first time, and this was essentially the third time he went around this time period.

Still, he didn't let the dreams bother him too badly. He took it in stride and went about his business.

Currently, his business involved combing out the knots in Epona's mane.

It would have, and should have, been an easy chore, but the mare was feeling frisky this morning. Already she had nipped him twice on the elbow, and had once artfully maneuvered her hoof upon his toe. Link soon managed to predict her more painful ideas. She had countered by bobbing her head out of the reach of his brush.

"Come now, come on." Link pleaded as he once more attempted to pull his brush through his horse's mane. "Hold STILL."

Epona stopped moving her head. Link stepped foreword with relief. "There. Now just be a good gir-"

Epona at that moment trod on his foot. The time weary hero leapt backward with a yelp, and began hopping up and down, grasping his foot.

"Ow! Owowowow!" Link muttered several oaths under his breath, hissing in pain. "Damn it! Some hero, damn it, can't even brush a damn horse… Stop that!"

Epona, with her intelligent eyes, had been watching Link with what may have passed for amusement. Link glared back. "Stop that, damn it! It's not like I can do anything!" Epona still watched him, blinking softly in a half bored manner.

Angrily, Link stomped off. Epona watched him go, flicking her ear back and forth. Then, with the carelessness of a horse at ease, she lowered her head and began grazing.

Her master, however, did not go far. Currently staying at Lon Lon Ranch, he went no further than the windmill. There, he sat down and leaned against the cool stone.

He had been spending increasingly more time here, where the monsters outside had forgone invading. Unwilling to mess with the past, being all to aware of how it could alter the future, Link had abstained from battling with them, except when they threatened to breach Lon Lon's walls. After all, the monsters of today were for his past (future?) self to conquer.

There was also the matter of living, for the second time, the past that was his childhood. He had tried to live it the way he had lived it the first time, but with a seven-year gap hazing his memory, he had long since given up. This had, of course, resulted in new problems, generally involving forgotten promises he had made and carried out seven years before, and were expected to be carried out again. At times the memories twisted and turned in his head, causing him to apologize for offenses he had forgotten to commit.

The position was tedious, to be sure.

As of now, he was enjoying his few and precious moments as an adult, or at least he had been until he realized that the past (future?!) him had neglected to perform a few daily chores, admittedly involving hygiene and general maintenance of his gear and horse.

Somewhere in his moody and generally unpleasant thoughts, he must have dozed off, as time whizzed by to reveal Ingo standing before him in the colorful death throes of a weary day. Link squinted at the silhouetted form before him.

"Sleeping again?" Ingo asked, his voice still in his sickeningly cheerful, pleasant new mood. "You know, if Talon caught you sleeping, he'd probably-"

"Skin me alive and tan the hide, if he got off his lazy rear long enough to try."

"Now, don't be like that." Ingo tisked. "He's turned over a new leaf he has. Just yesterday I saw him actually mucking the stables." Link raised an eyebrow. "Well, he was trying." Ingo revised.

"On the subject of stables," Link rose to his feet. "Where's Epona?"

"Oh she's in the stable. I finished grooming her and would you know it, she bit me!" he held up two fingers, sufficiently crunched and bandaged.

"She never did like you. Thanks though." Link stretched. Things had improved since he had finally beat Ingo in the race for Epona, although he wasn't quite sure if Ingo's sudden boost in jubilation over his lot in life was an exact improvement.

"Not at all, not at all, my pleasure." Ingo waved the thanks away, his happy grin still splashed across his face.

The two entered Talon's and Malon's home, talking blandly of assorted subjects and wondering what was for, and more nervously, who had made, dinner.

* * *

Slouching patiently in the dark, Etnad watched the original form of his leader enter the building. He waited a few moments, nervous and afraid he would come out again. When he didn't, the boy slipped from the shadows and stole along the walls to the stable. He entered without event, and slipped to the other side of the stables.

He carefully removed his own small vial, conjured from nowhere by Acantha and filled painstakingly with drops of the potion. He then set about his task, bringing the shadows of the horses to life. He made his way around the stable, breathing heavily and sweating, nearly sick with terror. Ghosts and poes and the living dead never caused him to blink an eye, but Din help him if he were caught magicking horses.

He quickly doused all the lights but one, and crept with it over to one of the horses. Balancing it carefully on a post, he slipped over the low fence that encircled the equestrian creatures. He deftly poured a measured amount of the potion onto the horse's shadow, then quickly darted back and blew out the light.

He could hear the shadow taking form, but did not move until he saw the two large red eyes staring at him in the darkness. He produced a package of stolen matches from his pocket and lit the lantern. A black stallion stood blinking in the light. Etnad rubbed the horse's velvety nose. "Good boy. Yes, you're a good boy." He then went about changing the others' shadows, freezing in terror at the slightest noises from outside.

At last, he reached Epona, content and in place as Ingo had promised. She flicked an ear and eyed the shadow menacingly. He eased toward her, hand outstretched. "Easy girl."

The instant his fingers came within reach she slammed her teeth down upon the digits. Hissing and gasping in pain, Etnad snatched his fingers away and shoved them into his mouth. Struggling with his remaining hand, he sprinkled the needed amount of potion on her shadow. Removing his throbbing fingers from his mouth, he blew out the torch and waited in the darkness.

When at last he was met again with the red eyes of a shadow horse, he lit the torch a final time.

Epona, the original, cocked her head and looked at Etnad sharply, as though less than pleased with his earlier actions. However, her earlier threatening gaze had been transferred to her shadowy counterpart, who raised its lip and whinnied at him.

The boy stepped back. The two eyed each other briefly. Etnad turned away and began releasing the horse shadows from their stables, allowing their originals to wander out. He did nothing to remedy this, and by the time Etnad returned to Epona, the stable was fairly crowded. Struggling in the tight space to maneuver the board that barred the horses in their stables, while keeping the torch he now held in his teeth from catching anything on fire, he didn't notice the cloned Epona rising to her hind legs until her front hoof connected with his head.

He crumpled to the ground, dead upon impact. The torch, having fallen from his mouth, rolled away, lighting several wisps of straw as well as the wooden structure.

The whole place was ablaze in instants. Had the boy somehow survived the shadow horse's kick, he never would have lived through the trampling that followed as the mares and stallions stamped and kicked in their tight quarters.

The barn around them burned.

* * *

At some point in between a mouthful of bread and a glass of milk, Link's ears began to ring. Trying his best to restrain a sigh of resignation, he began to slide his seat back, recognizing this as the signal reminding him to return to the Temple of Light. "I have to go."

"Already?" Malon asked, looking up from her own meal. "You only came back a few days ago."

"I know." Link had long since given up attempting to explain the circumstances of his life as it was, and the other residents of Lon Lon Ranch had long since given up trying to figure it out. Eventually, they just came to accept his seemingly random comings and goings.

"At least finish your food." Malon insisted.

"I'll eat it on the way."

After a quick farewell to Talon and Ingo, Link left the building.

He soon burst back in, shouting "The stable! It's burning!"

A dumbfounded space of silence followed. The room suddenly burst into noise and bustle, as each of the three ranch workers began to rush the door as one, each struggling to get out before the other.

Link had already turned and raced to the stables, now fully oblivious to the persistent ringing in his ears. He threw open the door, and without pausing for thought, thrust himself into the midst of the flames.

At first he thought he was hallucinating, as the number of horses in the stable seemed to have doubled. Automatically though, he forced himself into action, dodging the horses' flailing limbs and teeth. Some of the horses had already noticed the open door and began racing toward it, nearly trampling Link in their wake. Others though, were still rolling their eyes in fear, oblivious to the escape route before them.

Link grabbed one of their bridles. Immediately the horse began to rear itself up, forcing Link to pull it down on all fours again. He tried grabbing another, but was kicked to the ground.

He landed on his back. Groaning in pain, he rolled over.

And came face-to-face with the beaten and bloodied corpse of what appeared to be a young boy. He was barely visible in the flickering shadows, but there without a doubt.

Link however, had no time to consider how or why the boy had been in the barn, and instead returned to his feet and continued moving the horses out.

Most of them had already ran from the barn, but there were a few still in the back of the stables. Link randomly one of their bridles, and this time ignoring the others, began to lead it out of the burning building.

When he had finally gotten the horse into the clear air, he relinquished it to Malon and turned back to the stables, just in time to see it collapse in on itself, killing whatever horses were still within it's walls.

Link paled. "How- how many?"

"Seven."

"Seven? I thought there were only four, counting Epona."

"I don't think most of them are ours."

Link finally looked over to the field where the horses were wandering aimlessly. Off in their own corner, four of them stood solidly in their own group. Each of them were solid black in color, save for their eyes, which were a burning red. They were eyeing the four Hylians, two of which were struggling to put out the fire.

Link could see Epona among them, and released the breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

"'Hoy! Link!" Talon hollered. "Get over here an' help put out this fire."

Link, fully aware again that he desperately needed to get to the Temple, went against his better judgment and moved to obey the command.

The horizon was becoming lighter by the time the last ember had been extinguished, and Link was once again, exhausted. Miserable, tired, and with the damned ringing still prancing in his ears, it was longer still until he finally managed to mount Epona, and make his way out into Hyrule Field.


	9. Murder

Author's Note: I've decided to take this in a slightly darker direction. I might up the rating, but for those of you patiently waiting for war… it's not in this chapter. It's in the next chapter. Now, I'm not going to withhold chapters due to lack of reviews, but do realize that Anonymous review are accepted, and feedback is always welcome. If you don't like it, tell me what's wrong. Of course, I have a pretty set idea of where this is going, so there probably won't be much change. But it can't hurt to try, right?

Now, here's some vaugue action for those of you who've been waiting patiently.

* * *

I looked out over Hyrule, my lips pressed into a thin line.

Most of the others had returned. Juna had returned from the Kokori forest, bringing with her many shadow forest children, who appeared to be unaffected by leaving the forest. I recognized them all from my counterpart's memories. Mido, the twins, the shopkeeper, the Know-It-All brothers… All of them small, shadowed children, whose own sins and prejudices gave them barely enough darkness to form a shadow. In the right light you could see right through them.

Gornam and Daruru had not gone far. They had traversed into the Fire Temple in search of the Gorons captured there by Gannon. I had, in a full attempt to avoid any paradoxes, made sure they understood not to release any of them, although I needn't have worried. Darunia's shadow held none of the care or brotherly feeling toward his former people that the original had. This seemed, in a way, to transfer over to us. All of us were shadows, despite any differences in form or original race, and it seemed that the pride of race held true to us, the evils of the sentient races of Hyrule.

Acantha had traveled successfully to the Gerudo desert, and brought back with her several Gerudo women. I did not see Nabooru among them, and could only assume that she was either unable to be copied, highly unlikely, or already a slave to the two witches of the spirit temple.

Farare had stayed with me at the mountain, awaiting the newcomers. We had not spoken to one another, our disdain for each other clear and unbridled. He was inside the cave now, with the newcomers while I awaited the return of Etnad and Vicor.

Etnad had gone in search of horses, while Vicor had chosen to hunt out any living Zora. They had been gone for two weeks now, without news from either of them.

I shaded my eyes and scanned the surroundings again. Kakariko Village was in plain sight from where I stood, as was part of Hyrule field. Just beyond the village I could see a small splotch of what appeared to be moving darkness. I breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn't quite make out who it was, but it was relieving to know that at least one of them was still alive.

I made my way down to the cave, and waited there for either of the shadows' return.

By the time he arrived, the sky had darkened and half of a moon had begun its arduous trip above us. "Who's there?" I challenged.

"It's me." Was the tired response. "Vicor."

Juna had brought me a light nearly an hour ago. I held the torch up, allowing the light to shed itself upon my comrade. He stood limply, as though he were exhausted. His soldierly training attempted to kick in, and he stood straighter for a few moments, before his body rebelled and he slumped back into his dejected stance.

In his hand he held the reins of four dark horses, which all seemed to bee irritable and unhappy with their current situation.

"I found them… wandering in the field." He said slowly.

My heart leapt through my throat. "And Etnad?"

Vicor was silent for a moment. "He's dead. I think…" He took a sharp breath. "I think they killed him."

"They?"

"The Hylians at Lon Lon ranch. They must have. I saw…" he gulped then, and shifted his eyes away from mine. "I saw _you_ burying him just a few days ago."

I looked at him sharply. "Not _you_ you, but… the other you." He hastily corrected.

"Me…" I said to myself. It made sense. Me. My other. Link. The "Hero of Time." He would, wouldn't he? Just kill a shadow. There would be no thought behind it, just the cold reflex of murder that he… that _we_… had developed once before. After all, hadn't he tried to kill me once? Himself, his other half? I snarled. Din damn him. Din damn him below.

I looked at the horses. I recognized Epona. I took her reigns, and Vicor relinquished them to me. She seemed to recognize me as well, and nudged me with her nose. "You will need a new name." I said to her.

"Sir?" Vicor hesitated.

I looked back to him and smiled. It felt fake and cold. "I think I'll go for a ride."

"I don't know if that's a good ide-"

I hoisted myself onto her back. "Don't worry. We know each other."

"Sir, with Etnad dead, I don't think you should lea-"

I clenched the reigns. Of course. If it weren't for Link it would be Etnad bringing me horses. And Vicor would have come with-

"Vicor, did you find any of the Zora people?"

He shook his head. "No sir. I did not."

I turned the horse, getting a feel for her once more. "Vicor, I want you to tell them, tell everyone that Etnad is dead. I need to clear my head. I will be back soon."

"Yes, sir!" He snapped a quick salute, managing to pull himself into a soldierly position, and, this time without regressing back into a slouch, marched back into the cave to deliver the painful news.

I instead turned down the path, and nudged the horse along. I had thinking to do.

* * *

Etnad's form had been young. Very young. Fifteen, sixteen at most. True, I wasn't much older myself, but Etnad was so much more _childlike_.

I glanced at my surroundings. I had made my way to Kakariko Village. The sky was bleaching itself in the distance, becoming lighter as time passed. No one was about, and that made the town deathly quiet.

I paused the horse by the well. I was taking no specific direction, although it seemed I was headed toward the cemetery. I wanted to be nowhere near the dead at the moment, and changed my direction. I trotted the horse down the steps, heading her toward Hyrule Field.

I turned my thoughts to my horse. I was loath to call her Epona, as that was her Original's name. No, she would need another name, one she could call her own. Absorbed in my thoughts, it wasn't until the screaming began that I became aware of my surroundings.

Every light in Kakariko was lit. Candles, lanterns, torches, they all burned in the windows and hands of the people, staring and screaming at me. I clenched the horse's reigns in my fist. The screaming. The incomprehensibly loud sentences, words I only half understood, none of them pleasant. They swore and shouted and hissed and screamed at me. They swore and shouted and hissed and screamed at themselves.

I was them.

I am them.

Suddenly, he was standing before me. I didn't know him. Whoever he was, he stood in my way. I could feel my fury rising. My horse stirred below me, unnerved by the noises and flames. The man was shouting. I could hear the words, but the meaning escaped me.

"What

"Are

"You

"Doing

"Here?

"Damn

"You,

"Leave

"Us

"Alone

"You damned demon!"

The last phrase I understood. I slammed my heels into my horse, who reared to her hind legs and thrashed her forelegs before her, driving the man back. I saw his eyes widen in shock. In his hand I saw a flaming torch. I didn't recall it being there when he shouted at me, but I didn't have much time to contemplate it, when the fire was thrust into my horse's chest.

She screamed in pain and I was tossed to the ground. I rolled and quickly returned to my feet, going no higher than a crouch. I turned carefully while my horse writhed on the ground near me. We were trapped in a ring of fire and accusing words. I drew my sword, swinging it so that it sang in the air.

The man stepped forward again. "Leave our village."

"I don't take orders from the likes of you." I spat.

"You've done enough damage. My cousin… she's not the same." His face tangled into a sneer. "I don't know what you did you her, but she's not the same! And the others in this town… We've had enough of your plague, and demand that you and your kind leave. Do not return."

I straightened. "Do not return." I smiled. He stepped back. I knew I looked demented. I felt demented. "Do not return. Do you know what I am? Do you?" I stepped closer, the tip of my sword tracing a line in the dirt. I brought myself face to face with this man. I pressed my finger into his chest, causing him to wince. "I'm you. Not you, you. But I'm a part of you. I'm every dark thought, every evil whim. I'm every lie you have ever told, and ever will tell. I'm your every sin. I'm your shadow."

"Not my shadow." He hissed.

"No." I smiled again. "Not yours. But I could be. I could have been. In fact," I took a step back, sweeping my arms out, taking in the whole crowd. "I could be all of yours, any of yours. All of you Hylians. So High-and-Mighty, do you truly believe you're so pure and good? You," I pointed. "you," I pointed again, "you, you you, you?!" I shot my accusing finger at them in succession. "All of you! Look at the ground! Look! Look! See those shadows? They're yours too! You cast them! Look at your own evil, and stop categorizing everyone you see into these, these, black-and-white boxes like it's so easy!"

"Shut UP!" Something hard slammed into the back of my head, forcing me to my knees.

I turned on the ground, glaring at the man, standing above me. "Shut up, shadow. You have no right to judge us. You don't even have a right to exist!"

"No right?!" I rose again to my feet. "No right? Look at me! I live, I breath, I survive just like you, and I have no right to live?"

"No." he seethed. "You don't."

I swung my sword. He flattened himself below me and the steel blade sang over him. My horse had risen, and I swung myself onto her. She immediately bolted, and the circle parted to let her pass. I heard screams again, wordless cries of terror and distress, and below me, pain.

My horse had trampled over the man.

I didn't look back. I didn't slow down. The horse tore up the mountain, fleeing in terror from the village.

We didn't make it far. Partway up I had to halt and dismount. With Link she had always been nigh on invincible, and as a shadow she still retained this. But the burns were still terrible, and I didn't dare to ride her any further.

We made our way slowly up the mountain, giving me time to think on the deeds done in the village below.


	10. Shadows

Author's Note: This was a hard chapter to write. It came in bits and pieces. And also, I'm introducing a new concept, which I think I'll incorperate more of in the rewrite. And make no mistake, when I'm done licking my wounds from this story, I will rewrite it. My themes aren't as strong as I'd like them to be. Also, this chapter will be much more important in the future. But I swear, in the next chapter, I'll get right back on track with Dark Link and all his people.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gannon, Shadow Link, Longshots, Re-Deads, Hyrule Castle Town or the Water Temple. I do own Colm and the Potion.

* * *

Swirling darkness pierced with streaks of violet speckles, shimmering and glinting without light to reflect it. When held to the light, the glow did not pass through it, and it remained black and opaque in shadow. 

Gannon furrowed his brows and continued to stare at the small vial the potions lady had given him. He had had it for weeks now, the actual time lost upon him. In truth, the plan that had begun to blossom in his mind the day he saw the dark man flee the potion shop had withered on the stalk.

He kept the potion close at hand, waiting for the genius to strike again. In the meantime, he would hear of his followers being cut down and killed by…

Him.

The child he had seen in the night seven years ago as he pursued the Princess from Hyrule Market Town. The boy that had opened to him the Sacred Realm, and had appeared to perish as he did so. The man the people called "Link."

Gannon fingered the vial. He wasn't sure what to make of this man. He had been missing for seven years, presumed dead by all, although there was little time to mourn the dead now that the King of Thieves had come to power.

Still…

This boy was causing far more trouble than could be expected. Gannon rose.

He was alone in the throne room of the once proud Hyrule Castle. Pillars lay broken on the floor, shattered from his experiments in his own power. He flexed his left hand-the one bearing the symbol of the Triforce. He placed two fingers into his mouth and released a high-pitched whistle.

A peculiar being entered. He was of medium size, with disproportionately lengthy arms and legs. His skin sagged about him, several sizes too large for his skeleton. Despite his awkward body, he made a surprisingly graceful bow. "My Lord?"

Gannon held the vial towards his servant. "I want you to find the boy, Link. Copy his shadow and bring it to me."

The servant carefully took the vial, making sure not to touch his master in the process. Then, with more flourishing bows, the being exited again, leaving the Master of Hyrule once more alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Colm scuttled through the former Hyrule Castle Town. He nervously eyed the Re-Dead that prowled the streets. They stared listlessly back, uninterested in his life force. Too drained already. Too bitter. Not sweet, not like… 

His.

He moved on, trying to pass through as quickly as possible. The sky was already dark, and for this he was thankful. Too often the sun would burn his pasty skin, and he would spend days, weeks even, wincing in his sunburns.

But despite the safety of the setting sun, the night afforded its own difficulties. For one, the servant lacked the ability to see in darkness. For another, specific shadows proved a difficult target in the night. The vial in his pouch bounced lightly against his hip, a constant reminder of the task at hand.

Suddenly, there was a screech, a cry of triumph from a re-dead, having spied a meal. Each of Colm's organs raced to his feet, as he ground to a halt along his path, unable to move. The Re-Dead's spell had been cast.

But the re-dead didn't move toward him. The zombie instead lurched in past him in pursuit of another victim. Colm strained his eyes, hunting for the object of its attentions.

It was Him.

Unmistakable. Unbelievable. But there. The boy, the man, in green. The rising Hero. Colm's own target. Colm began to struggle against the paralysis, an easy task now that his fear was drowning in an onslaught of adrenaline.

* * *

Link couldn't move. His exhausted muscles hadn't the strength to resist the zombie climbing onto his back. He squirted out quick, gasping breaths of air. "Oh, Din-" Whatever prayer he was beginning was ended by a cold, piercing pain. Link struggled weakly, a feat becoming more difficult as his energy was drained away.

"Hold him still! Don't let go!"

From the corner of his eye, Link could see a small black figure scuttle across the cobblestone street. It came to a stop at his feet, and crouched there. It was hissing with anticipation as it drew something out of the folds that enveloped it. "Hold him, just a little longer. Just a little bit…"

Nothing quite brings out the zest for life in a person like the thought of their impending death.

* * *

A blow to the jaw sent Colm flying. The vial slipped from his fingers as he was thrown back, and to his horrified ears, came the faint but audible sound of glass shattering.

He hit the street hard, choking on the pain exploding from his spine. He could hear the slapping of boots fleeing, running away from him. He lifted his head slightly, and watched him run. He dropped his head, regretting more his own failure than the sharp contact it made with the stone.

He could hear the pitiful moans of the re-dead, too slow to give chase to Him. Colm considered briefly his own edibility. _Let them come._ He decided. _It could be no worse than what he'll do to me._

He lay there for a short age, before his self-pitying revelry was broken.

"You may be content to lay there for the rest of your miserable life, but I have more important things to do."

Colm opened his eyes. Sitting up, he stared at the man before him.

It was Him. Or at least… Colm blinked a few times. No, it wasn't Him. But it was him. Fascinating. Colm marveled at the likeness. The tunic, the boots, the gloves, the sword, the hair, the hat… Like a mold, a perfect, flawless copy in black. Except for the eyes. The eyes were red. The servant grinned. _A little lady up there must favor me._ He figured. He stood up and dusted himself off.

The shadow-man was walking away. Colm had to jog to catch up, but when he reached him, he had no difficulty keeping up with the man's powerful stride. "So, where are you-"

"I have buisiness to attend to." The man cut Colm short, as he held little to no regard for him.

Colm's brows furrowed. "Like what?"

"It's none of your concern."

Colm grabbed the shadow's arm. "I believe it is."

Colm scarcely had time to breathe before he was once again plastered across the street. The shadow continued walking. Colm grabbed his mouth, shocked to find blood trickling down from his nose. "W-wait." Colm's voice was muffled. "Wait, wait, wait! Please." The shadow kept walking. "I must, I have to take you to my master!" the servant pleaded, rising and stumbling after him.

The shadow stopped, and turned to face him. "Gannon?" he questioned.

"Y-yes. Gannon. My master. Please. I just need to-"

"Take me to him."

"What? Oh, oh yes. Yessir. Thank you, thank you thank you thank-"

"Shut up."

"Yessir."

The two silently walked down the street, one indifferent to the other, and the other vainly searching for his lost dignity. Here he was, a high servant to Lord Gannon, King of this land, and there was this man, this shadow, who would not be here but for him, who treated him as inferior. _And I,_ Colm thought_, I groveled. I allowed him to treat me as such._ He looked at the product of his task. He didn't look long. Now was not the time, and his Lord did not like to wait for too long.

* * *

"So this is the boy who has caused such a stir." Gannon remarked, as he inspected the shadow man.

Colm stood in the corner of the room, shifting. His lord and the boy had been staring at each other since he had brought him. The broken silence nearly caused him to hyperventilate as the tension mounted.

"Or should I say, something much like him." Gannon smiled.

"You shouldn't." the shadow replied. "I am he."

"Of course." Gannon continued to smile.

The shadow blinked. "What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

Gannon raised his hands in mock peacemaking. "Essentially, you are him. But then again, you're not quite Him. A part of Him, I suppose. Detached."

"I don't understand."

Gannon dropped his hands, through with the charade. "You, boy, are a Shadow. A copy. The sin removed from the sinner. You are His hate, His lust, His fear, His every mean thought, but you are not Him. You are merely a manifestation of a possibility."

The shadow shifted, uncomfortable, battling within his mind the glaring truth of Gannon's words. His hand wavered toward his sword. "What possibility?"

Gannon leaned on the arm of his chair. He was not so confident as to sit, but had relaxed in the presence of such a confused and naïve foe. "Merely what He might have been, had He not gone on his useless little quest, or had he not slept for seven years. Evil, I suppose, although I'm loathe to call it that. It's so trite."

"How do you know I slept for so long?"

"I have my resources. But you shouldn't worry. Now he'll never have the chance to be what you are."

"Liar."

The shadow unsheathed his sword and leapt at the King of Gerudos. Gannon's sword flashed out, deftly blocking the blade. "Look, boy." He spat. "Does the Master Sword look different to you?"

The shadow stared mutely at his own blade. Instead of the shine of steel he was accustomed to, his eyes met with the faintly translucent blackness that had been wrought into a sword.

"It's a copy too."

The shadow gritted his teeth. The fight resumed. Slash. Block. Parry. Dodge. Thrust. Leap. Twirl. Strike. Somewhere in the dance of the swords Gannon could hear the shadow. "I am Link!" it screamed. "I am the hero of Time!" Slash. Duck. Thrust. Dodge. Swipe. Block. Parry. Slash. Blood.

The shadow stumbled back, falling to one knee as it grabbed its arm. Thick, black blood, speckled the floor, then pooled out below his elbow. It sparkled with purple glitter when the light hit it. The shadow bowed its head.

Gannon looked coldly upon it. He had commissioned this creature's creation solely to test the skills of the boy, Link. After all, the shadow had retained the boy's memories, and therefore his skill. However, Gannon could see that he would get no more fight from the shadow. With a gesture almost like a clap, but resulting in a sound closer to the ringing of a bell, he summoned Colm over to him. "Take him away. I've no use for him now."

"Where should I-"

"Anywhere. I want him gone. But let him live. If he ever wakes up from this self-pitying stupor, I'll want to fight him again."

Colm bowed. He raised the shadow to his feet, and led him without struggle to the door.

"Do not forget his sword."

Colm hastily retrieved the blade from where it had been dropped. The shadow stood where he had been left, head bowed in defeat.

* * *

Ca-chink. K-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-kt. Above all things, Colm enjoyed showing off his toys. This was, of course, only a replacement for his old Hookshot, but it was much longer, and far more effective. He grinned at the man next to him. "This," he began, flourishing the object in his face, "is a Longshot. A new model of the Hookshot."

The shadow gave no response. He still held his sword in his hand, despite Colm's repeated attempts to sheath it. The shadow kept staring at it, as though it would give him some sort of answer. Colm sighed, exasperated. "You know, you really should show me some respect."

"Why would I do that?" The shadow didn't look up.

"I _created_ you. And the created must pay homage to their creator, like children to parents, or men to Gods."

"You… created me."

"Yes." Colm smiled, pleased that the shadow was catching on. "And you know what, as my creation, I think I have the right to name you."

The shadow's head shot up. He stared at Colm, whose smiling, arrogant face suddenly dropped. The shadow gritted his teeth, and raised his sword. At the end of its arc Colm was lying on the floor. He was vainly attempting to hold his stomach together as vital organs and blood vied to evacuate first. The shadow stood over him. "I am not your toy." He spat. "I hate you for making me. And for that, you deserve no respect."

He stepped over the dying body. Leaning over, he delicately picked up the fallen longshot. He aimed it randomly, and watched it clang against the wall and reel back.

There was a door in front of him. He pressed his hand against it, and it opened. He looked back at the corpse. "Goodbye." He said softly.

Colm's body caught fire as the shadow passed through the door.


	11. Battle

Author's Note: Sigh. Well, it's 1:30 AM, and I just finished writing. Now to some, this is not a good time to be writing. But I find the late night the best time to really get those natural skills running. Sure, my spelling sucks, but that's what spell check and beta reading's for right? Right? And you know, I was flipping through some of my earlier chapters, and I realized I forgot something. Kimo. The music man. Last I heard of him was somewhere in chapter four, and then he vanished. So, I think I'll give you a brief back story right here, for all of you who read these Author's n\Notes. Think of it as a bonus feature.

Kimo died. While running through the path of falling rocks he was crushed by an exceptionally large one and was therefore simultaneously crushed and burned to death. And no one liked him anyway, so no one really noticed, and no one really cared.

Ha ha ha. Isn't that GREAT? Okay, I'm tired, and my computer's making funny noises. I'm going to bed.

I was awakened that morning by Daruru's cries. "We are under attack! Everyone! Prepare for battle!"

I stumbled to my feet, my back aching from the rocks I had slept on. "Daruru! What the hell are you screaming about?"

Daruru pounded his way toward me. "You! While you were sleeping THEY started up the mountain! They already shot one of the Kokori! We're at war!"

"Dammit!"

I marched past him, leaving him behind in the cavern. I passed through a series of tunnels, screaming "Gornam! Acantha! Ju-"

I was cut off as someone grabbed my arm. My eyes turned to meet those of Famare. His own burned into me. "What did you do?" He hissed.

I glared at him in confusion. He tightened his grip. "Last night! Vicor told us that you took one of the horses, and you rode off! Where did you go? WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

The memories slithered into my mind's eye. A ring of fire, the cries, the screaming…

_Demon…_

I narrowed my eyes, then looked away. "Justice."

He forced me to look at him. I would never have expected the physical strength the old man showed. "Justice?" he hissed back. "Justice? You fool! You've ruined everything!"

"I ruined nothing!" I screamed back. "I created this, and so no matter what I do, I can ruin nothing!"

He laughed. "You arrogant brat! This is what I meant before. You are no leader. You are a man pretending to be a God, and you've ruined us all."

I struck him.

The strength evaporated from his vice-like grip on my arm. He fell to the floor, and lay there, unmoving. I could have sworn my heart stopped. I fell to my knees. "Famare?"

No response.

"Famare!"

I lifted his wrist and hunted in vain for a pulse. Nothing. Nayru's Love… What had I done?

Daruru entered the alcove. "What's wrong? What hap-"

He looked down on us. I could only guess what he thought of the sight. "He… just collapsed." I lied. I hated it. "We were arguing. His original was old. I think he… just gave out."

Daruru looked troubled. "I see." He looked at Famare sadly, as he began to alight, as so many of us do in death. He sighed, "There is no time to mourn the dead. Come, we must join the battlefield."

"Come out demons! It's time to settle this!"

I could see them there on the path. I could hear the clatter of their weaponry, their voices hard below it all. I clenched my jaw. I could see that there would be no treaty among us, no possible hope of peace. I looked to Daruru, to my left, and Gornam on my right. They too, had realized this.

All of us had retreated to the cavern, and came out above them through the higher cliffs and caves. The Gorons had blocked the main entrance with several boulders, and was perhaps the only reason that swords had not clashed yet.

Make no mistake, we had weapons. While I had slept Acantha had been busily spinning them with her magic, slingshots for the Kokori, arrows and swords for the Hylians and Zora. The Gorons had refused to accept any arms, certain that their bare fists would suffice in battle.

"Daruru," I spoke. "have you ever encountered something such as this?"

He shook his head. "No. We Gorons have been at peace for years now. Gannon had not attacked us until just before my birth."

Gornam sighed, and leaned back. "Which reminds me," he muttered, then spoke louder. "Back when Daruru was created, his Original said to you something about your own counterpart and his hateful parts. You said then you would explain to me what he meant by that. I am still waiting."

I clenched my sword, not in preparation for defense, but for the comfort of knowing it was there. "I do not believe that now is the time." I said quietly.

Daruru cautiously laid a hand on my shoulder. "Now may be the best time."

I sighed, and was silent for a moment. The shouts and threats of the people below had subsided, as they had now turned their energies toward removing the boulders. I half wished they would hurry up and break in. The oncoming mayhem would provide me an excuse not to answer. Unfortunately, Hylians are physically weaker than gorons, and some time passed before one of us spoke again.

"Link-"

"Don't call me that!" I hissed, and pounded the rock I leaned on.

Gornam sighed, his infinite patience with me wearing thin. "Then what should we call you? You never chose an alternate name for yourself, so what should we do if you refuse to answer to your original's name?"

I sighed. "I don't know. Just don't call me that name." We were silent again. The men below had at last managed to heave aside one of the boulders.

"Gornam, Daruru." I began. "Do you remember being a part of your original?"

"Very clearly." Daruru replied. "I remember leading my people through these hard times."

Gornam nodded in agreement, and I continued. "And do you remember, when you were created, how you felt you were still the original?"

They both nodded. "Of course. But in truth, we are as copies, are we not? And even as copies, we are as they are, yes?"

"Not quite." Gornam looked at me quizzically, but I could see that Daruru already knew what I was telling them. "We are not copies, not in the sense of being exact. Technically, we are them, part of them, which is why we remember being part of their lives. Do you remember the old stories, the ones about the sorcerers that used to rule these lands?"

"Yes. They would create things out of thin air."

"So the people believed. But the truth was that they couldn't create something from nothing. All that they made was made from something. It is a rule that holds strong today."

"Yes, and we are made from their shadows."

"No, their shadows are only a catalyst for the creation. Look," I pointed toward the people below, who had nearly dislodged another boulder. "look very closely."

They squinted. Gornam gasped, but Daruru nodded. Despite the blackness of the path, there were inky spots of darkness below the people. They still had shadows.

"You see, shadows are only where something solid blocks the sun. It is not a tangible medium for creating anything. Instead, we are made of-"

"Hate?" Gornam whispered, closing his eyes. The sorrow in his voice was heartbreaking. It was so much better to think that we were copies, doubles, rather than beings made of something no sane being could admire.

"Among other things. Sin, mostly. We're like… like souls almost. Partial souls. We are evil removed, evil displaced."

"Evil." He whispered, and put his hands over his eyes. "So, those people down there… without us… they're good?"

I laughed. The sound was cold, bitter. "Does it look like that? Tell me, would 'good' people be banging on the door of the 'evil', when the evil has never done them physical harm? Look at them. They're making their own evil. New evil. They can't stop. It's possible they'll build up enough to make another copy." I looked at Gornam. He was shaking. Even made of evil, he was a good man. I put my hand on his shoulder. "We may be made of evil, but we can still make our own good." I could hear shouts and cries of triumph from below, mingled with shrieks of pain.

"They've moved another boulder. The rest of the pile went with it. Some were crushed but…"

"They're coming in." I said. Daruru nodded. I stepped back from them both. "Come now, Gornam. There is fighting to do."

The shouting echoed in the caves, multiplying the battle by tenfold. We had beaten the Originals back to the mouth of the cave, but progressed no further.

I had mounted my horse, and joined them in battle. We were nearly even in number, and if either of us had an advantage in that field, it was soon erased.

Feris, I soon learned, had the first to be struck down. He was a Kokori, a close friend of the other dead Kokori Shadow, and had been near the frontlines, flinging with his tiny strength the magically enhanced stones of his slingshot. He was cut down by an arrow, not story-like into his heart, but through the neck. The Hylians had aimed too high.

In return, one of our Gerudo girls slashed through the torso of a man, who fell to the ground, and despite valid efforts on behalf of his people, was trampled into the dust.

And so we raged. A Gerudo was stabbed, a Hylians was shot. A Kokori was beaten, a townsman was decapitated. A Shadow was trampled, a Man was squashed. A shadow fell, and an original was felled.

Blood of red and blood of black spattered in all directions, and with nowhere else to go, settled upon us all. There was not just blood on our hands, but on our faces and in our eyes, matting our hair and gritting in our teeth. In the midst of the gore, it was a wonder that we managed to tell the Original from the Shadow. I'm not so certain we did.

Acantha was shot down, her chest a veritable pincushion of feathers, her magic spurting erratically from her fingertips. Daruru was shot in the eye, and while blinded, roared in defiance. He immersed himself in a mass of Them. He may have killed or wounded many, but he did not reemerge.

Vicar was fighting himself. The two of them, face to face in combat, matching one another, hunting desperately for the upper hand. The fought this way for what may have been minutes, what may have been hours, until their weapons, sparking from contact, alighted a shadowed Bombflower. Neither could have survived.

Juna's horse was shot out from under her. She shot her arrows still, killing them in close range. But arrows are useless when one cannot pull the bow, and she soon drew her dagger, and began stabbing, with both the dagger and her final arrow. I fought my way to her, and tugged her onto my horse, even as I questioned whether I should not abandon the steed in these tight quarters.

I slashed at the writhing hoard, their head's at just the right height for nearly all my strokes to be deadly. Juna stabbed. I slashed. The horses kicked. The Kokori shot. The Gorons rolled and slammed and punched. The Gerudos danced and cut and slashed. And we…

We were losing.

The horses were maimed as our enemies slashed their legs. The Kokori were shot by far superior weapons. The Gorons were surrounded and stabbed, and those that did not die instantly bled dry. Even the Gerudo, quick and lithe and defensive, were easily taken down when struck in the back.

Then Juna was shot.

She nearly fell off the horse. I panicked. I grabbed at her, awkwardly twisting myself to hold on to her behind me. Someone slashed my stomach. I screamed. I dropped her.

She was caught by Gornam. He looked up at me, but only just barely considering his size. He carefully, but quickly, lay her across lap. "Run." His voice was hoarse, like one who had been crying.

"I can't." I would not leave. I could not leave.

"Run." He pleaded again. "You can make it. There's nothing left here."

"There is! There must be."

"No." he replied. "You must go. You're wounded, you won't survive here. And she… you two can start again."

I placed my hand on my stomach. I hadn't noticed since the initial strike. I was bleeding. Heavily.

"I'll cover your escape. I'll repay my debt to you."

He then screamed. A dagger had been planted in one of his thick shoulders. It was quickly pulled out. Gornam turned, and slammed a massive fist into the offender's head. I heard his neck snap.

"Go!"

My horse ran. There was no path, so she made her own. I made no effort to change her course. She burst past the battle and into the clouding sky. Her hooves pounded down the mountainside.

I turned, trying my best to ignore the mounting pain in my stomach as I craned to see the home I was leaving behind.

I could see Gornam. He stood like a mountain, battering at his foes. I could only see his broad back, bleeding from his wound, and his arms, raining wrath upon the enemy. How he died, I do not know, for my horse turned, and he was lost.

I had not noticed, in the heat of battle, that my horse had sustained any wounds. But as we neared the Hylian Field, she collapsed, and Juna and I rolled off her back. I crawled to her, and rolled her on her back.

The arrow in her shoulder had snapped, leaving only the head and part of the shaft protruding. "Hold on," I said quietly "I'm going to pull this out."

She whimpered slightly as I grasped the splintered wood. "On the count of three. One, Two, _Three_." I yanked the arrow out. She screamed and bled.

"Shit." I muttered, and tried to stem the flow. Weakly, she placed her hand on mine. "It's… okay." She whispered. "I don't think I would have survived anyway."

"Bullshit." I hissed. "You wouldn't have died."

"But I am… dying… now, right?"

I gave no answer. She did not continue. I pulled her onto my lap, cradling her.

"I guess… we really screwed this up, didn't we?" She whispered, and gave a little half-laugh.

"Yeah." I whispered back.

She traced a small bit of my arm. "I did love you, you know."

"Did you?" I could feel myself cutting myself off, already building barriers to her death.

"I did. Did you… love me?"

"I guess."

"You didn't… did you?"

I bowed my head. "Not… not like that."

She was silent for a moment. "That's okay." She said. I suppose… Acantha would have been better for you."

"No!" I replied. "No… You were the first. You will always be the first. But… I don't… I didn't… I…"

I didn't really have an answer for her. She was slipping away, her eyes becoming unfocused. I held her closer. "Maybe I did." I whispered. "Just a little."

"Just a little…" She smiled. "I think…"

I don't know what she thought. Her voice became to quiet, too small, and too muddled by her lack of breath. She coughed. She wheezed. I held her close, saying nothing as she died in my arms.

I think the rain might have started falling then. It was odd, but I could have sworn the drops fell only on her face.

"Nayru's love."

I started, surprised. My gaze shot to the right, where I saw Him. Him and his horse.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"I was going to ask you. Why…?"

I looked down at my arms. They were empty. I hadn't noticed, but her body had burned away hours ago. The sun had set. The moon was rising.

I looked at Him. He looked different than I remembered. He looked… tired.

"You look tired." He said.

"Do I?" I laughed. It was a cold laugh. "I suppose I am."

There was a silence. "So, why… how…?" he started.

"Time." I said, nodding absently. "In and out, following you. I had just finished…" I looked up at him. "Can I ask you a favor?"

Link stared at his shadow. He remembered, still, his battle with him. It had been hard. It had been merciless. The shadow had had every desire to kill him.

But looking at him now, he seemed so… defeated. Lost. Without purpose. Link knew that he hadn't yet battled him in this timeline.

So he couldn't trust him. Not at all. And granting him a favor would place far too much power, far too much trust.

But then… He had never been able to deny a request.

"What?"

His shadow looked up at him. No longer hunched over, Link could see that his counterpart had a wound in his stomach. It was no longer bleeding, and was already beginning to heal. Link was certain that their shared inherent sturdiness was the only reason he was still breathing.

"Kill me."

Link was startled from his thoughts. "What?"

"Kill me. Please. You would have battled me soon, but now… There isn't really a point for me anymore."

Link hesitated. "Why?"

The shadow gave him a look that was both pained and fatigued. "I tried. Truly I did. But everything and everyone I tried for is dead now." He lowered his gaze. "If it makes it easier, think of it as a mercy killing. Spare me a drawn out death."

"I can't."

The shadow looked up. "Why can't you?"

Link squatted down. "I haven't killed anyone in seven years."

"Bullshit." The shadow hissed.

"Truly." Swore Link. "I'm living these years again, switching between my life as a child and as an adult. In my timeframe, I haven't killed in years."

"So what? You nearly killed me before. Just finish the job."

"I can't. Please, isn't there anything else I can do for you?"

The shadow looked at him despairingly. He then looked at the ground. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke again.

"Yes."


	12. Finale

Author's Note: Well, here it is. The last chapter of a personally painful story. I'll say right here right now I will rewrite this. This whole story. Not today, damn well not tomorrow, but someday. This story has taken more out of me than any I've ever attempted, and it STILL reaches no longer than 48 pages. At the same time I love and despise this story, it is my pride and my shame. This is the ending I've had planned from the beginning, but the story is far longer than I anticipated. I (hopefully) managed to keep my characters from being any form of Sues- but that's fixable if I failed. But there are holes in my plot and bits left not quite amped to their fullest potential. I'm going to pursue other genres and stories now, I've enormous amounts of ideas backed up. But for those of you who have read this, from the beginning or no, and especially for those of you who reviewed, I thank you from the bottome of my heart. You are why I have not trashed this piece in a fit of despair.

"Thank you."

"It was the least I could do."

"Perhaps… but I thank you all the same."

We were standing on the island in the middle of Lake Hylia. The sun was rolling down behind the mountains, bathing our awkwardness in a red glare.

"Are you certain you don't want help?" He asked me. I could tell that He hoped I would decline, but would not deny it should I accept His help. But then, I was still proud in my way.

"I am certain." I turned to look downhill. The lake was still drained down to the pitiful puddle at its base. "You should go now."

"Yes…" There was a pause. I heard Him turn and begin to walk away, not too quickly, but briskly enough. I did not watch Him leave, but instead crouched in the shadow of the dead tree, and waited His return.

I did not wait long. With the coming dawn I saw His approach, changed from the man who had brought me here. His eyes were more focused, he held himself with more confidence, and less fatigue. This was the Link of this time. This was the Link who would conquer the Water Temple. This was the Hero of Time.

I followed him into the entrance. I reattached myself to his shadow, far easier than trying to follow him in secrecy.

I had never seen so much of the Water Temple. When I lived here, I kept myself locked in my chamber, in the world of mist and fantasy. But my other had no such discrepancy. He entered every doorway, walked ever hall, and battled every enemy. I watched. And I waited.

And then he entered my chamber. I detached myself, and slunk into a corner where I would not be noticed.

I watched Him walk slowly through the mist, warily hunting for the threat he knew must be there. He stopped somewhere near the middle. He looked to the left, and looked to the right, then looked to the tree.

And he saw Me.

I saw Me too, but it was another me, the before Me. It was a peculiar feeling, to watch myself, to reach feebly into my mind to recall the thoughts and reactions I had when this was.

_I could see me. No… not me. Him. The True One. The one who was born, the one with a destiny. I was only a copy of this, a Shadow. But a copy is meant to be a backup, in case the Original should fail. _

_I drew my sword._

_The Original would fail. The Copy would rise to take his place. His Future could be mine, a Future of people, of glory, of sweat and blood and battle and blade. The Future was made for those who would take it, those who would be willing to fight for it._

_He drew His sword._

_We fell to battle. _

_I would make my own Future._

Needless to say, I lost that battle. The world of mist and a single tree dissipated around me. When he left, I rose. I walked slowly over to my fallen self.

I was breathing shallowly. I opened my eyes and looked up at me. I could see in my eyes the horror and confusion I felt.

I gave no explanation. I owed myself none, and one may have weakened my resolve. But in truth there was only one way to end it all, one way to ensure that I erased my mistake.

I brought the sword down upon myself.

For every moment, there are an infinite number of futures. Each future becomes a moment, with its own infinite number of futures. When the sword fell upon the Shadow, the blade itself brought to an end one such Future.

In a time where the Shadow of a Hero worked for seven years to earn a potion, jobs were left undone, and jobs were completed by others. The Potion Lady of Kakariko Village allowed her Shadow-Making Potions collect dust on the shelf, and a Shadow was made by Goddesses for Link to fight. Juna's cousin survived the Dark age of Gannon, and went on to raise horses on Lon Lon Ranch. Darunia learned first-hand of his people's capture, and was not wounded in the process. People went on in their lives.

Things never were. There were no battles fought on a false mountain, no traumatized citizens whose sins and virtues were split, no mountains raised, no men or women murdered by their selves. Not this time.

There were those who wondered though. Famarre awoke one night from a dream where he had been struck and killed by an arrogant young man. Gornam once felt his back being torn apart by nothing, leaving no mark but burning him into bed rest for a night, until they inexplicably and mercifully stopped. Juna burst into tears one day, crying and screaming, her heart breaking for no reason at all. Etnad never went near a horse in his life.

But these instances faded, and the scars left in time faded into the past, into a Maybe that no longer existed.


End file.
